Hello World!!!
As of today, at least according to me, we are officially in the Thanksgiving season…and no matter what displays are already out in department stores, we are not in the Christmas season yet…
This year, I would like to focus on gratitude for the whole month of November rather than just on Thanksgiving Day…So what was the catalyst for this decision…Last week my manfriend aka my boyfriend D (do you really have a boyfriend if he is a fully grown man? I don’t know…) challenged me about my penchant to focus on negativity in some areas and predict negative outcomes…
I don’t think I’m an overall negative person but sometimes I do fall into the habit of focusing on what I don’t have rather than what I do have. He pointed out that everything in his life is not how he wants it to be either, but that he would rather focus on what he has. He said he always sees his glass as half full rather than half empty…
So the next day as I performed my work, I made an effort to see my glass as half full no matter what happened and be thankful for life just as it is. And God pointed out to me in numerous ways that I have a lot to be thankful for even if He chooses to never bless me with anything else…As a part of my job, I have to park in several parking spaces all over town. As you would expect, I always try to find the spaces closest to my destination and luckily for me, that usually happens.
But the day after I decided to see my glass as half full, I ended up getting a parking space at a location a little farther away from where I am usually able to park – it was if as God was saying, “Ima see if she is going to be thankful if she has to go out of her way to get to her destination…” (Now some of y’all are probably saying, “You can’t pray to God to get a good parking space” or “God isn’t concerned about something as insignificant as a parking space.” Well, in Bible study, we are studying the creation story in Genesis, and it is clear to me that God is so magnificent and magnanimous that He is concerned with everything that concerns His beloved creation – even parking spaces.) So as I was walking to my destination, I noticed a man getting out of his jeep, which was parked in one of the spaces that I had my eye on….It probably took at least 15 minutes for the man to get out his jeep as he walked with two canes…Obviously, he needed the space more than I did. As I watched him painstakingly make his way to his destination, I had to be thankful I could jump out my car, slam the door and be on my way in less than a minute. My glass is half full…
On any given day, I would like to be a few pounds thinner – seriously…but I was reminded last week how I used to be obsessed with my weight and control my food intake like it was a life and death situation…I mean I used to weigh myself several times a day and say all kinds of negative things to myself if I wasn’t at my desired weight. I.WAS. CRAZY…for real…Yeah, I still have my moments when I obsess about my weight for sure, but trust me it’s a long way off from how I used to be…My glass is half full…
If you have read my blog posts over the past year, you know that I would like to be a published book author…I feel like I’m destined to be a published book author and still it hasn’t happened…(Yes, I know about self-publishing…) But thanks be to God that I do get paid to write already…And I received a freelance writing check in the mail yesterday as I was working on my monthly budget (Shout out to Sonia!). Ain’t God good…My glass is half full…
I could rattle off more, but I want to hear from you…How is your glass half full?
And if you know me and you hear me saying a negative statement, you have permission to tell me to stop right then and thank God for my glass being half full…
Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this. I Thessalonians 5:18
Any thoughts?
P.S. I have also decided to bless rather than curse situations by speaking positively as “the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21
I love this song about being thankful…I feel you girl…I hope to be singing this song one day…
I’m thankful for my health, my independence, my wisdom, and ability.
Yes, health is of the utmost importance, and thanks Brent for stopping by again!
Good entry! I think I am just naturally an optimistic person, but For the past thirty years I’ve been a member of churches that stress the power of our words. I have no doubt that what we think and speak is what determines the course of our lives.
Very true!